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38
F. Eloeva, E. Sausverde
CULTURE HERO AS A FORMER INTRIGUER
But there was one Elephant [...] who was full of 'satiable curtiosity [sic] and that means he asked ever so many questions. And he lived in Africa, and he filled all Africa with his 'satiable curtiosities. [...] He asked questions about everything that he saw, or heard, or felt, or smelt, or touched, and his uncles and his aunts spanked him.
Rudyard Kipling
No method requires more erudition than the comparative, and yet none is less fruitful. Nevertheless, the comparative method continues to dominate research on individual myths.
M. I. Steblin-Kamenskij
Культурный герой как бывший трикстер. Предметом рассмотрения является вопрос о возможном параллелизме ряда мифологических персонажей - Прометея (древнегреческая мифология), Сырдона (осетинский эпос), Локи (скандинавская традиция) Исследование этой проблемы имеет длительную историю, однако прежде эти герои исследовались «по парам» - Прометей versus Локи, Локи versus Сыр-дон, причем за основу исследования брался синхронный срез. В данной работе сопоставляются все три персонажа, при этом они исследуются в диахронии. В статье выявляются некоторые новые черты схождения Локи и Сырдона. Предположительно восстанавливается следующая линия семантической эволюции персонажей -хтонический герой, трикстер, культурный герой
Ключевые слова: Трикстер, культурный герой, хтонический герой, Сырдон, Локи, Прометей, миф, метафора, семантическая эволюция
Introduction
Opening our paper with the quotation from Mikhail I. Steblin-Kamenskij's book The Myth (Steblin-Kamenskij 1982: 28; 2003: 230) we pay once again homage to the great scholar whose legacy continues to be held in high regard in the academic world. Besides, comparative mythology is a fascinating pursuit that mesmerized humanity for centuries. We too cannot resist the temptation. Having said that, we believe that Steblin-Kamenskij' s statement is rather debatable. Comparative mythology offers approaches and models
through which the human mind perceives and analyses the world. For this reason one can hardly call it useless. This paper deals with the question that has been extensively discussed in the Indo-European comparative mythology. It is the question of the parallels and affinities which can be observed between certain epic and mythological characters - Ancient Greek Prometheus, Syrdon of the Narts' epos and Scandinavian Loki. Previously the three characters have been examined in pairs - Prometheus versus Loki1, Loki versus Syrdon (Dumezil 1959; Kerenyi 2010; Михайлов 2011). Researchers studied them mostly on the synchronic level, statically, attempting in this way to reconstruct the proto-stage. We, however, aim to examine their development diachronically, in evolution2. The idea is to compare Loki of Scandinavian and Syrdon of Caucasian material (Narts epic tradition) with the evolution of the character of Prometheus as described in early texts ("Theogonia" and "Works and Days of Hesiod") and with his later transformation as described in "Prometheus bound" by Aeschylus. We believe that this comparison will help us to demonstrate the general pattern of evolution which can be described as (chthonian) deity > trickster > cultural hero.
The comparison of these three characters allows us to suggest that, at least partly, they all belong to the model of the so called trickster which can be found in the Coyote spirit in some Native American mythologies, who stole fire from the gods (or stars, or
Apparently, the first scholar to compare Loki and Prometheus was George Dumezil, in his early work of 1924 (Dumezil 1924); Jan de Vries calles Loki in his fundamental research on the history of Old Germanic religion the "Germanic Prometheus" (De Vries 1967: 272). The resemblance of the two characters two different mytho-poetic traditions has beennoted regularly by various researchers (see, for example, Rooth 1961; Simek 1995: 233234, 236-244; MeneraHCKHH 1988: 67-68.
2 An exception in this trend for the synchronic approach to Loki's character is found in the analysis offered by Anatoly Liberman in his book The Word Heath and especially in the brilliant etymological retrospective given in the Postscript, which characteristically bears the title "How Loki Laufeyjar Son Lived Up to His Name." Liberman states that the Loki myths were determined by the "punning possibilities inherent in his name" He goes on to say that the development of the hero starts from a kind of chthonic divinity (initially the name Loki meant "somebody who locks, delimitates") later transforming into the Ruler of the Down World, God of Fire (versus Lucifere), trickster etc. Liberman demonstrates convincingly, how in accordance with pre-Saussourian logic, the initial name Loki shapes and determines the subsequent modifications and functions of the hero. See Liberman 1994.
sun). Similar motive is attested in the stories about the Rabbit in the South Eastern United States or the Raven which stole fire from his uncle beaver and eventually gave it to people.
There is nothing new in this assertion - it has long been accepted by comparative mythology. Here we are dealing with a kind of mythological universal. In this essay we will attempt to prove that the trickster and intriguer - a character who transgresses the rules because of his "satiable curtiosity," as Kipling put it - constitutes the first stage in the transformation from a character into a culture hero (Long 2005: 203).
In this we agree with E. Meletinskij's statement, according to which the culture hero - demiurge - is the most ancient character in the world folklore, while the trickster is a subsequent transformation of the image of the culture hero (Meletinskij 1958: 114-132). Employing the Greek model (Hesiod's "Theogonia") as our starting point, we will argue that an intriguer /a trickster is the most ancient mythological character,i while culture hero emerges as a result of later developments (Aeschylus, npo/nOevg Aso/mzqt;, Prometheus bound). One can suggest that the moment the culture hero emerges, myth disappears and gives way to fiction.
In this paper we will focus on the question of whether the semantic development attributed to these characters - chthonian deity -> trickster -> culture hero - correlates with the transformation and changing value of the idea of progress within different cultures. Our inferences are based on the belief that while reconstructing possible transformations of a character, one should make use of Greek material, where Prometheus of Hesiod acts according to the behavior model of a trickster thus presenting an early stage of the development of myth, while Prometheus of Aeschylus belongs to the world of fiction.
One can suggest that here we deal with the transformations myth > allegory, metaphor > symbol. In traditional cultures the idea of any change is viewed negatively. Yet, there is no doubt that even conservative societies fall under the charm of the ambivalent figure of a trickster. Aesir cannot help enjoying the tricks and inventions of Loki while and Narts admire «their misfortunate», treacherous Syrdon. It is evident that Prometheus belongs to the same category of characters. Aeschylus's fantasy transforms a trickster into a hero and in the process creates a new myth - the idea of Indefinite Progress.
Prometheus - Loki - Syrdon. Common features.
Ambivalence and complexity of the initial character
Apparently tricksters do not change their mischievous behaviour even after they became the object of investigation, and cause the scholars problems similar to those they used to cause gods. It is an accepted fact that any review of scholarly discourse involving the interpretation of Loki, Syrdon or Prometheus comes against the extremely complex, confusing and ambivalent nature of these characters.
Adopting the concept of myth as a way of explaining and describing the world, we refer to the aforementioned statement by Diakonov (Дьяконов 2004) in which he claims that "a system of abstract notions is intrinsically alien to the primitive mind." Using this assertion as a starting point, we aim to reconstruct the ambivalent, complex character of the Ur-trickster, which has been analysed, interpreted and simplified by humanity while it developed its capacity for abstract speculation.
Similar approach is proposed by Nikolaj Mikhajlov (Mikhajlov 2011). Concentrating on the character of Prometheus he proposes to reconstruct a kind of a Proto-trickster valid on the Indo-European level. His ambivalence and dualist nature should not be regarded as a result of later development but as a set of initial features of his character. Analyzing the character of Prometheus, depicted in the Hesiod works, Mikhajlov proposes to reconstruct an ambivalent proto-hero who would combine qualities of culture hero and trickster, forming the unique image of Prometheus-Epimetheus (Mikhajlov 2011: 82). He is referring to Kerenyi who advanced the hypothesis claiming the existence of an Ur-hero Prometheus/ Epimetheus in the pre-Hesiod mythology (Kerenyi 1979: 120).
Let us consider some of the examples illustrating the ambivalence of the characters discussed. One of the most important texts providing us with the most complete description of Loki is the Lokasenna of the Poetic Edda. Lokasenna ('Loki's Quarrel' in Old Norse) of the Poetic Edda (Bellows 1936) focuses on Loki arguing with other gods.
In this passage the contradictory character of Loki in all its ambivalence, paradoxality, strange compelling charm, mixture of spontaneity and malice can be clearly seen.
The same ambivalence and tendency to initiate some misfortune and then to restore the status quo, or even to ameliorate the situation at the last moment, is characteristic of Syrdon - the hero of the Narts
epic tradition. (The only exception seems to be the parallel stories of the tragic fate of the solar heroes of Scandinavian and Caucasian traditions, Baldr and Soslan, whose deaths had been provoked by Loki and Syrdon respectively. Here our personages go too far and the catastrophe cannot be reversed.)
Practically in all narratives where Syrdon features, he acts in the same impulsive manner, driven by his curiosity and his malicious and inventive mind, changing rapidly his tactics and strategy, intermittently acting as a positive and as a negative hero. For example, in his travels with Narts he decides to take revenge after being humiliated by them and brings them to the brink of disaster -but later, in accordance with his usual model of behavior, he saves the lives of the Nart heroes who are stuck to the benches of giants by some magic glue. In his usual way he doesn't miss the opportunity to humiliate his companions while saving their lives.
Prometheus and Loki. Theft during sacrifice
It is evident that in the case of Prometheus we deal with the transformation of a trickster (as seen in Hesiod) to a character who becomes the gods' adversary (as seen in Aeschylus). The heroic opposition of Prometheus to Zeus and his subsequent punishment are very similar to the permanent feud between ^sir and Loki which is caused the corresponding revenge of gods (the ^sir). Syrdon in his turn very often provokes the Narts to oppose and fight the gods. In the case of Syrdon we can see the opposition Gods - Narts. On the one hand, Syrdon opposes Gods, on the other, he is in permanent conflict with Narts. The opposition of Loki to the ^sir is somewhat different because the ^sir are actually gods.There are two plots in Hesiod Theogony, featuring Prometheus. They are brought together in fragment 507-616 - the trick played by Prometheus on Zeus during the "first sacrifice "and the theft of the fire with the subsequent myth of Pandora (561-616).
Mikhajlov proposes to compare on typological level two fragments of myths belonging to Greek and Scandinavian traditions - the narrative about the first sacrifice (Hes. Theog. 535-564) and the confrontation of Loki and Pjasi (Skaldskaparmal,1)
In both cases we are dealing with the sacrifice of an ox to deity -in the case of Prometheus-to Zeus, in the case of Loki - to Pjasi. The bull is meant for the ^sir (the classical sacrifice) but also for Pjasi (peace offering). Then there is a certain condition attached - one part for you, one part for me (Zeus and mortals; Pjasi and the ^sir). In
both situations Prometheus and Loki act like transgressors and they are punished for their crime.
Pairs of heroes and twins
It is interesting to note that quite often this Ur-Trickster has a positive counterpart. This dualistic nature of the First Trickster is crucial. Dualistic myths featuring two culture heroes arranging the world in a complementary fashion can be found in different cultures: Romulus and Remus, Ashvins - Dioscures, Prometheus - Epi-metheus etc. In Germanic mythology and the Nart epic tradition of the Northern Caucasus these pairs are strangely attracted to each other: Baldr-Loki, Syrdon-Soslan. The two characters are intimately connected and one of them eventually causes the other's death.
According to Meletinsky, "the two heroes may compete or collaborate; they may be conceived as neutral or opposed to each other, as good versus evil; they can be of the same statue or differ as powerful versus weak; they can be brothers (even twins) or not related at all" (MeneraHCKHH 1982: 25).
It seems that there is an obvious link between Loki and Baldr, Syrdon and Soslan. Loki's hate for Baldr matches that of Syrdon for Soslan. There is a kind of secret to be discovered in order to harm their adversaries and Soslan/Baldr and Loki/Syrdon find it. They do not kill themselves but provide counselling to someone else how to carry out the killing.
Soslan's young ally is prevented by Syrdon from reviving him, just as Baldr is prevented from being revived by Loki. What is striking here, is not so much the correspondence in the details of the stories, as the profound connection between Syrdon's and Loki's psychological make up. Both are mean characters whch for a long time keep their meanness in check by causing relatively little harm, even being useful sometimes, until their mischief making reaches the point where they cross the line of acceptability. After this they perform the appalling crime of killing the solar hero. This similarity of their common journey from nastiness to crime is absolutely striking.
Chthonic origin. Belonging to the Other World
Tricksters are usually of mixed (chthonic-divine) origins -Prometheus is the son of Titan Iapetus and the goddess Themis (Aeschylus) or Oceanid Clymene (Hesiodes); Syrdon is the son of
the river deity Gatag and Dzerassa - the daughter of the god of the sea Donbettyr; Loki is the son of Jotunn Farbauti and Laufey whose origins are unclear.
Insatiable Curiosity
In most cultures (one can refer here to examples from Greek, Norse, Native American, Southwestern America, Pacific Northwest, Alaskan and Russian Far Eastern traditions) the trickster deity transgresses the rules set by gods or nature, sometimes maliciously, sometimes with positive outcomes (his initial intention being to amuse himself).
There is a well-known theory that the origins of the so-called Ancient Greek miracle lie in the phenomenon that the Greeks called cnouS^ 'leisure' and the Romans 'otium', which meant 'free time'. So there is something deeply touching about the fact that the first shoots of Progress were due to leisure and entertainment and not to strict protestant values. The logic of the evolution of myth appears to support this idea.
Gender and form variability
More often than not the Trickster figure exhibits gender and form variability and swops gender roles. Traditionally this feature has been interpreted as a shamanistic one. Such figures appear in Native American and First Nations mythologies, where they are said to possess a double-spirit nature. Loki, the Norse trickster, also displays gender variability; on one occasion even becoming pregnant. He shares the ability to change genders with OSinn, the chief Norse deity, who also possesses many features of the Trickster. Loki 's pregnancy came about when he was forced by the Gods to prevent a giant from erecting a wall in seven days. He solved the problem by transforming himself into a mare and drawing the giant's magic horse away from its work. Some time later he returned with a child he had given birth to — the eight-legged horse Sleipnir, who served as Odin's steed. Syrdon, too, often changes his gender. He transforms into an elderly lady and even into a whole array of objects.
Loki - Syrdon similarities.
George Dumezil was the first to observe the strong resemblance between Syrdon and Loki (Dumezil 1948). However, in Dumezil's opinion, of greatest importance was the similarity of the general
atmosphere, temperaments, modality and not the coincidence of separate details. Both characters are cunning, curious, possess outstanding mental abilities, are strongly connected to the Other World, perform magic, possess shamanistic features. Syrdon even has some Pythagorean skills - "numbers are not mystery to him". Discussing the issue, Dumezil remarks that the only "material coincidence" between the two characters are present in two narratives that appear to be parallel:
1. While crossing the river, bound to the tail of a horse of Soslan Syrdon is nearly drowned - in this way Soslan shows his contempt to his eternal adversary. Exactly the same thing happens to Loki who is bound to Por's belt while crossing the river.
2. Syrdon steals pieces of iron when Barsag's will is forged by the Heaven's smith Kurdalagon. As a result, the power of Barsag's will weakens. Loki spoils Por's hammer while it is being forged by a dwarf (Dumezil 1976: 121). Remarkable as they are, Dumezil, considers these obvious coincidences to be insignificant.
3. Both Loki and Syrdon have some potential for developing into culture heroes - Loki invents the net, while Syrdon invents the first lyre of the Narts (fandyr). The story of these "inventions" (if they can be considered as such) is very typical for the evolution of culture heroes. Their cultural endeavors are rarely systematically and methodically planned. Quite often an important landscape or culture feature is a consequence of some kind of chance or of their light-minded behavior rather than a result of their creative activity).
Loki's relation with gods varies. Loki sometimes assists them and sometimes causes problems for them. Loki and Syrdon are experienced shape and gender shifters. Loki assumes the form of a salmon, a mare, a fly, anold woman. Syrdon too changes his form easily and often turns into an old woman, a dog etc.
Loki and Syrdon both dwell in strange secret houses. Syrdon lives either in a labyrinth under the earth or next to the river (this detail underlines his chthonic nature). Loki has a strange house in the mountains where the ^sir try to get hold of him, but he escapes turning into a salmon and later comes close to creating the net. Prometheus (depicted by Aeschylus), Loki and Syrdon share features of prophets. Often they help their companions by giving them useful advices. On the other hand when they foresee the misfortunes, which will befall their community, Loki and Syrdon display real joy. Both Loki and Syrdon cause the death of solar heroes.
The motive of the punishment for the committed crime is not so evident in Syrdon's case, in spite of the fact that he is called Narty fydbylyzh 'the misfortune of the Narts'. In his turn, Loki is known as the evil of the ^sir. The Narts repeatedly try to find the way of punishing and torturing Syrdon, but he invariably manages to find some kind of solution for his predicament. Frequently Narts and Asses show their despise for Loki and Syrdon.
Loki and Syrdon. Some new parallels
We have noted that the coincidence in general atmosphere is observed more easily than the coincidence in the concrete features making up the characters of our heroes. And still there are some details, which seem strikingly similar and have apparently escaped the researchers' attention. There is a certain affinity between the plots of Baldr's death caused by Loki and Syrdon's son's death caused by Soslan. Syrdon, wanting to get an ox from every Nart family, proposes to use his son as a target and to shoot at him using their bows. " If you kill him I need no compensation, but if you miss you give me an ox". Syrdon, who like Prometheus and Loki possesses some prophetic qualities, is aware of the fact that for some unknown reason, no Nart except for Soslan can cause harm to his son. Syrdon knows that Soslan is absent and hence cannot participate in the dangerous game. But Soslan returns, meets a witch who tells him that he is the only person who can hit the target and kill the boy (intererestingly, in the Narts epos we usually meet Syrdon himself in the role of the old witch, who,like Loki, can perform this kind of transformations). Syrdon recognizes Soslan's arrow because it produces a peculiar sound while in flight. After this incident Syrdon becomes Soslan's worst enemy. This story is strangely remeniscent of the well-known narrative of the killing of Baldr by Loki (which in its turn presents a certain parallel to the story of the peril of Soslan caused by Syrdon)
One of the most striking aspects in the resemblance between Prometheus and Loki is the fact that the two heroes are punished in the same way - being bound to a rock. Their punishment gave rise to the motive of torture, suffering and subsequent liberation.
Loki is eventually bound by the gods with one of his sons' entrail, while Syrdon creates the first musical instrument of Narts -fandyr - using his son's veins (Нарты 1990: 224-238) who was killed by Hamyts and boiled in a cauldron in revenge for Syrdon's
stealing of his cow3. So here we are dealing with a remarkable coincidence that so far appears to have passed unnoticed.
The stories go like this: After Baldr's death the Aesir capture Loki. They bring him into a cave, take three flat stones and drill a hole in each of them. Then they take Loki's sons, Vali and Nari (or Narfi). Vali is transformed by Aesir into a wolf and tears / Narfi into pieces. After that Aesir takes Narfi's entrails and binds Loki to the stones (Gylfagining, Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, chapter 50).
As for Syrdon, he seems to be deeply attached to his sons. According to some versions, his wife died after having given birth to his three sons; in other versions he had a wife and twelve sons. Syrdon's sons became victims of Soslan and Hamyts.
At some point Syrdon stole the cow belonging to Hamyts. He took it to his secret house, boiled the cow in a cauldron and prepared a meal for his wife and twelve sons. Hamyts on discovering the crime, found Syrdon's secret house, came there in his absence, killed Syrdon's wife and children, cut them to pieces and threw parts of their bodies into the boiling cauldron taking with him the cooked meat of his cow. Having discovered what happened to his family, Syrdon plunged into despair. In the cauldron he finds his son's hand and pulls over it his twelve veins. This is how Syrdon creates the Nart lyre - fandyr. Narts admire this wonderful musical instrument and allow Syrdon back into their community.
Conclusion
In this article we have focused our attention on the question of whether the semantic development attributed to certain characters -chthonian deity, trickster, culture hero - correlates with the transformation and the changing value of the idea of progress within different cultures. Our inferences were based on the idea that while reconstructing the possible transformation of this character one should use the Greek material, where Hesiod's Prometheus acts according to the model of a behavior of a trickster and undoubtedly presents an earlier stage of the development of the myth, while Aeschylus's Prometheus belongs to the world of fiction.
We tend to regard myth as a tool for expressing man's cognition of the world in the period of his development where he has not yet
3 This fact seems to have been missed by Dumezil. Three volumes of the Narts Epos have been published in Ossetia and an electronic corpus of Ossetian language is being prepared. Hence we can hope for the introduction of a new valuable material.
created an apparatus of abstract notions required for arriving at logical conclusions. We believe that myth can be regarded as an extended metaphor. The idea of any change has been regarded negatively in traditional cultures (the present society, surely, preserves many features of this addiction to stability and repetition). Yet, there is no doubt that even conservative societies felt the irresistible charm of the ambivalent figure of trickster. Aesir cannot help enjoying Loki's tricks and inventions, and Narts admire «their misfortune» - the treacherous Syrdon. It is evident that Prometheus belongs to the same category of characters. Aeschylus's fantasy transformed the trickster into a hero and in the process created a new myth - the idea of the Indefinite Progress.
When discussing a culture hero it seems fitting to refer to the Greek material (Hesiod) because it was the Greek written tradition that recorded the earlier stages of myth. Already in Aeschylus one can trace the future transformation of metaphor into symbol and allegory and observe how myth becomes literature. Presumably, using the Greek model, one can reconstruct a plausible itinerary of the hero's transformation. Scandinavian and Ossetian material does not offer this possibility, so to analyze it, we can resort to analogy.
"My end is my beginning" - and we somehow wistfully return to the quotation from Steblin-Kamenskij, of this article. As a matter of fact, it is extremely difficult to verify any hypothesis in the field of comparative mythology - the subject matter is too delicate. We can only reiterate our initial idea - myth comes to an end when fiction starts, and Snorri Sturluson in the 13 century was much closer to the phenomenon of mythological thinking than Aeschylus was in the 5 century BC.
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F. Eloeva, E. Sausverde. Culture Hero As a Former Intriguer
This paper deals with the question that has been extensively discussed in the Indo-European comparative mythology. It is the question of the parallels and affinities which can be observed between certain epic and mythological characters - Ancient Greek Prometheus, Syrdon of the Narts' epos and Scandinavian Loki. Previously the three characters have been examined in pairs - Prometheus versus Loki, Loki versus Syrdon. Researchers studied them mostly on the synchronic level, statically, attempting in this way to reconstruct the proto-stage. The aim of the paper was to examine their development diachronically, in evolution. It seems that this comparison will help us to demonstrate the general pattern of evolution which can be described as (chthonian) deity > trickster > cultural hero.
Attention is focused on the question of whether the semantic development attributed to certain characters - chthonian deity, trickster, culture hero - correlates with the transformation and the changing value of the idea of progress within different cultures. When discussing a culture hero it seems fitting to refer to the Greek material (Hesiod) because it was the Greek written tradition that recorded the earlier stages of myth. Already in Aeschylus one can trace the future transformation of metaphor into symbol and allegory and observe how myth becomes literature. Presumably, using the Greek model, one can reconstruct a plausible itinerary of the hero's transformation. Scandinavian and Ossetian material does not offer this possibility, so to analyze it, we can resort to analogy. It should be stressed that comparing Scandinavian and Ossetian material some new affinities and parallels between the characters of Syrdon and Loki were found.
Keywords: trickster, cultural hero, chthonian deity, Syrdon of the Narts' epos, Scandinavian Loki, Prometheus.
